Lower Columbia River Basin Riparian Restoration Endangered Salmon Land Use and Restoration

Livestock Grazing Intensive Riparian Use Exclusion = Passive Restoration

Invasive Plants Reed Canarygrass (RCG) Phalaris arundinacea L.

(Christy and Putera 1992 ,PACFISH 1994, Kershner et al. 2004, Lev et al. 2004, Fullerton et al. 2006)

Factors Involved In Determining Livestock Grazing Impacts on Riparian Wetlands In the LCRB

Livestock Grazing

Stocking DensityTime of Grazing Duration of GrazingLivestock Type(Vegetation Preference)

Soil CompactionDecreased InfiltrationBiomass RemovalPlant Damage (Trampling)ErosionNutrient Input-Removal

Degree of Disturbance

Riparian Wetland

Riparian Wetland Ecological Health, Habitat Quality

ClimateHydrologySoilsTopographyVegetation

Local Environment

Plant Species Composition•Species Richness:Native vs. Non-Native & Invasive•% Cover

Water Quality•Sediment, Nutrients

Hydrology-Soils•Bulk Density•Infiltration•Nutrient Cycling

Topography•Erosion

Upstream DamsInvasive Species

LCRB

Citations: See References

RCG has been planted for livestock forage production

Livestock successfully feed on RCG throughout the growing season and prefer young RCG stands and re-growth (Decker et al. 1969).

Evaluate Grazing vs Excluded Riparian Wetlands

Examine riparian plant communities and soil characteristics along a succession gradient of livestock exclusion.

Determine plant species richness and dominance

Grazed riparian wetlands will have higher native and non-native species richness than excluded wetlands. RCG will be the dominant non-native

species within the excluded wetlands.

Currently and Historically Grazed Heavy Grazing Utilization > 1200 AMU

May- October

Historically Grazed

3 Years of Livestock Exclusion

Historically Grazed

13 Years of Livestock Exclusion

Sample Site Selection 6 (60-45 meter) transects placed

randomly with in each site

Parameters Measured Soil Survey LiDAR Elevation Data Vegetation Survey

Soil Surface Bulk Density (g/cm3) Using a soil corer of known volume, calculated

as soil dry weight (g) divided by total core volume (cm3)

Soil Texture Analysis Dry Sieving and Hydrometer to determine %

Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay Soil % Organic Matter Loss-on-ignition

(Kalra and Maynard 1991)

Line Intercept Method (Brower et al. 1997, Jerkins et al. 2008)

Plant Cover for Each Species Every 10cm (1dm)

Native, Non-Native Veg. Data: Species richness (Ludwig and Renolds 1988, Chaneton and Facelli 1991)

Relative cover Diversity: Shannon’s Index (H’) (Pielou 1975)

Bulk Density (g/cm3) Similar Between all Sites

Soil Texture Analysis Clay Loam for all sites

% Organic Matter (OM) Grazed site had a higher OM content than the

exclusion sites

9.7%

7.4%

5.8%

Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results

* Indicates significant difference (p-value<0.05) between sites, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test

Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results

Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results

Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results Expected Results

More native and non-native species were found in the grazed site than the excluded sites

Reed canarygrass was the dominant species for all of the wetland sites

The grazed and short-term exclusion wetlands had similar Diversity and RCG cover

Future Restoration Projects

Future Restoration Projects

Hogan Ranch (STE)

It is possible that the impacts of cattle grazing in the riparian wetlands of the LCRB may decrease the abundance of RCG and increase riparian vegetation diversity and habitat quality (Zedler 2000, Tesauro 2001).

Conceptual Figure: Factors Involved in Determining Livestock Grazing Impacts on Riparian Wetlands in the Lower Columbia River Basin (LCRB) (Kauffman and Krueger 1984, Wissmar and Beschta 1998, Christy and Putera 1992, Menke and Bradford 1992, Milchunas and Lauenroth 1993, Vavra et al. 1994, Green and Kauffman 1995, Belsky et al. 1999, van Oene et al. 1999, Reeves and Champion 2004, Clary and Kinney 2002, Austin et al. 2007, Osmond et al. 2007, Bartuszevige and Endress 2008, Zedler 2009).

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Portland. 74 pp.Clary WP and Kinney JW. 2002. Streambank and vegetation response to simulated cattle grazing. Wetlands (Wilmington, N C ) Wetlands 22(1):139-48.Decker, AM, GA Jung, JB Washko, DD Wolf, and MJ Wright. 1969. Management and productivity of perennial grasses in the Northeast: I. Reed Canarygrass. West Virginia Univ. Agric Exp. Sn.

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restoration planning. Landscape Ecol 21(8):1347-60.Green, DM. and JB Kauffman. 1995. Succession and livestock grazing in a northeastern Oregon riparian ecosystem. J. Range Manage. 48:307-313.Jenkins, NJ, Yeakley, JA, and Stewart, EM. 2008. Responses of Phalaris Arundinacea L. to managed flooding of wetlands in the Columbia Slough in Portland, Oregon, USA. Wetlands 28:1018-

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138.Vavra M, Laycock WA, Pieper RD, eds. 1994. Ecological Implications of Livestock Herbivory in the West. Denver (CO): Society for Range Management.Wissmar, RC and RL Beschta. 1998. Restoration and management of riparian ecosystems: A catchment perspective. Freshwater Biology 40, (3): 571-85.Zedler, J. 2000. Progress in wetland restoration ecology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution (Amsterdam) 15, (10): 402-7.